


Benzaiten Steel and the 'this is all your fault, dumbass'

by lyfthemuffinmoth



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Alternate Universe - Benzaiten Steel Lives, Angst, But just a little, F/F, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, It'll All Be Okay, Junoverse | Juno Steel Universe, Kidnapping, M/M, Mick is bi because I feel bad for Ben, Other, ben calls jupeter out so hard, ben is so confused honestly, but now there is angst, crying at 3am over ben huh, haha i miss sasha and mick, i just love ben my dudes, no beta we die like men, scouts honour, the chapters get longer i promise, they better come back this season, this started out as a fluff idea, yes i know but i like them angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24241012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyfthemuffinmoth/pseuds/lyfthemuffinmoth
Summary: It was just an ordinairy day, really. It was pretty boring actually, if you asked Benzaiten. Nothing out of the ordinary, he just teached his dance classes and went shopping, did all of the normal stuff. It was pretty ordinary, until he'd felt a hand on his and a sharp but short pain in his wrist. After that, the world started blurring and quickly fading before the dancer's sightThe heist had been a great success except for one detail. Someone had recognized Juno and Juno knew they were not going to use that information for good means. When the members of the Aurinko Crime Family receive a note that a their most recent victim wants the item they stole back in exchange for a certain dancer, Juno immediately grows furious. He almost lost his brother twenty ears ago.He sure as hell wasn't going to let it happen again.
Relationships: Benzaiten Steel & Everyone, Benzaiten Steel & Juno Steel, Mick Mercury & Benzaiten Steel & Juno Steel & Sasha Wire, Mick Mercury & Sasha Wire, Mick Mercury/Benzaiten Steel, Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Comments: 11
Kudos: 89





	1. An Unexpected Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> I have been reading way too many Ben Lives AUs lately, jeez- I just love him too much honestly

He was tired, maybe a little exhausted even. His dark curls were stuck on his face and neck and it was certainly not the greatest feeling. He was also pretty hungry. His job took a bunch of energy and even though he hadn't really eaten a lot yet. But most of all, Benzaiten Steel was bored.

He was sitting on the floor in his dance studio, legs crossed. His back was leaned against the cold mirror in the room. He lifted his water bottle to his mouth and took a sip. He loved working with those kids, sure, but they had so much energy, it was overwhelming sometimes.

After a while of just sitting and breathing, Ben got up and walked to a backroom. It was pretty basic. A small wooden table, two wooden chairs and a small kitchen counter with a sink in it. Benten changed out of his ballet clothes into his normal getup. A white tank top, a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt tied around his waist.

While he was tying the laces of his sneakers, he heard a chime. It was the bell of the door to the studio. That was weird, Ben could’ve sworn he’d locked the door. If there had been one thing he'd learned from growing up with Sarah Steel, it was that you could never be too careful. So he walked over to the counter, silently. Being a dancer had certainly taught him how to be light on his feet, which was great in case you wanted to be quiet. He carefully opened a drawer and pulled out a knife that he always kept in there. _First rule of growing up in Old Town. Always have a knife on you._ He could almost hear his sibling’s voice, having one of his infamous monologues. Damn, that lady monologued a lot.

He slipped the blade into his pocket, being careful not to cut himself. He then took a few steps, his footsteps still quiet like a mouse. “Hello?” he called softly. “Somebody there?”

When he didn’t get an answer, he walked over closer to the door. He put his hand on the door handle and pushed it down, opening the door. He walked down the hallway for a while, still cautious. Then he saw the front door. It wasn’t very far, but the door was definitely open. Someone was inside. An intruder. Benten pulled the blade out of his pocket and held it defensively, as if someone was about to jump out of the shadows and charge at him. And for all he knew, maybe someone would.

When he passed the room he had just given class in, he spotted something- someone. Inside. He thought he’d prepared himself for it, but apparently he hadn’t prepared himself enough. As soon as he saw the intruder, he dropped his knife, startled. It clattered to the ground, making no shortage of noise. That caught the intruders attention. Ben knew he should just bolt away, but he felt like he was paralysed, frozen in place by fear. 

When the intruder heard the noise the blade had made, they turned around to look at Ben. At first they looked frustrated, but when they took a better look at Ben’s face, a grin formed on their face. Ben didn’t like that grin at all, but it did seem to kickstart his fight or flight response and he bolted away. He did however run in the wrong direction, towards the backroom. There was no way out through there, no door, no nothing.

After a while of chasing, Ben arrived in the backroom. His knife was still in the hallway and he didn’t have any more. In a haze of panic and desperation, he just grabbed one of the wooden chairs and raised it above his head. Then, the person who had been chasing him came inside. They had a gun raised at him. Ben shivered. Being held at gunpoint… That brought back bad memories.

He heard a shot being fired and instinctively squeezed his eyes shut. He waited for the pain. It didn’t come. When he had prepared for the hit, the other had come closer to him, so Ben flinched when he opened his eyes, the other towering over him. They roughly pinned him up against the wall so couldn’t move, their hand on Ben’s mouth. The dancer’s eyes were wide with fear. They then took out some syringe of sorts and placed it into Ben’s wrist. Once they injected him he started feeling… weird. Dizzy and lightheaded. The male began to lose the strength in his muscles, his vision blurring. His feet slipped away from underneath him and he lost complete consciousness, falling into his attacker’s arms.

* * *

Juno took a deep breath. Calm down, Steel. It's fine. He walked through the halls of the Carte Blanche, obviously nervous. He had every reason to be nervous. Someone had recognised him while they had been on mission, and he doubted that they were not going to use that information against him, or even against the whole crew. He'd told Buddy what had happened just after they'd arrived back on the ship. She'd been frustrated, sure, but she didn't blame Juno. Juno did though.

He had recognised the other and he should've just stayed away from them, but no, he had to trip over his extremely high heels. He didn't get why Buddy had made him wear them in the first place, or why anyone would wear them, really, but they had caused quite a distraction when they had gotten Juno to trip over his own feet and faceplant in the middle of the room. Good job, Steel

He woke up from his thoughts from two hands, taking his own. He knew those hands. Soft skin with cold rings. They were Peter's hands. He hated to admit it, but some of his worried faded instantly. 

When he looked up at Peter though, his worry immediately returned. "What happened?” Juno said quickly. He knew the face the other was making could never be good news. Peter took a deep breath. “Remember how Jet and Rita went out for recon today?” he asked softly. Juno nodded, holding the other's hands tight. "Well, they ran into some… people and they asked to- they asked to give you a message, dear.” 

A message from a bunch of bad rich people. Juno did not like where this was going at all. "What was it?" Juno asked. Peter sighed. He didn't answer, but he walked them towards his room and sat Juno down on his bed. Juno have Peter a frustrated look. "What did they say, Nureyev?” he said. Peter took a deep breath. "Well, since they know your name, they started researching you." He begun. "Your history, your… weaknesses if you will." Juno held Peter's hand tighter. He didn't like this at all. "What. Did. They. Say." He spoke, emphasising every word.

Peter took a deep breath holding Juno's hands. "They said… they said they want back what we took. In exchange for…" he trailed off. Juno knew he want going to like what Peter was about to say, but he figured he might as well get it over with. "In exchange for what, Nureyev?" He asked. He squeezed Peter's hands to stop his own from shaking. The thief sighed

"In exchange for you brother, Juno."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you lots for reading and enduring my dumbassery. If you liked it please leave me a comment :)
> 
> Stay safe and have a nice day!


	2. An Unknown Number

Juno started pacing down the halls of the Carte Blanche. “Juno, breathe” Peter said, walking after the panicked detective. The lady turned around to face Peter. “Breathe? _Breathe?_ My brother just got fucking kidnapped, how can you expect me to breathe?” he snapped at the other. His hands were shaking and so was the rest of him. Peter took Juno’s trembling hands and looked the lady in the eye. “He’s going to be fine, Juno, I promise.” he said. Juno pulled his hands away. “You don’t know that!” he said. “God this is all my fault… If If hadn’t tripped over my stupid shoes then they wouldn’t have seen me and Ben would just be safe at home and I....”

Juno’s mind flashed over the last time he’d felt so panicked. A phone call, Sarah Steel, a gunshot. Oh no. What if they were hurting Ben. What if he was dead, or bleeding out or… Suddenly, Juno was in that room again. Sarah’s voice in his head, Ben in front of his eyes. Juno shook his head. Focus. He looked up at Peter. “Does everyone know already?” he asked. Peter nodded. “They suggested I’d be the one to tell you since Rita is upset like you are.”

Juno hadn’t even thought about that. Rita and Ben had always been close, teasing Juno and having movie nights together. Ben had learned a lot about hacking from Rita and they always rambled to each other about streams. Plus, Rita was a more emotional person than Juno was and Juno knew that well. God, she had to be a mess. 

Peter walked into the living room area with a shaking Juno. Everyone was there. The whole crime family. Rita looked up at Juno through tearstained eyes. Her glasses were foggy and she was leaning against Jet’s chest. He’d no doubt been comforting her before. Buddy Aurinko’s concerned eyes were looking right at Juno. No, that wasn’t concern- It was pity. Juno hated pity. Then there was Vespa, standing next to Buddy. She was looking at Juno too, but not with pity. It looked like she was inspecting him, trying to see how he’d responded. Juno took a deep breath and then said absolutely nothing. He just held Peter’s hand and breathed. He knew that if he would talk right now, his voice would tremble, and he wasn’t ready to be that vulnerable just yet.

They stood there in silence for what must’ve been at least five minutes before the sound of a comms going off startled everyone. Rita checked her comms and so did Buddy. Vespa didn’t even move. The green haired woman didn’t have a comms and neither did Peter or Jet. All eyes turned to Juno. The PI pulled out his comms and took the call. Unknown number. Huh. He took some distance so the mysterious caller couldn’t see the rest of the crew. He was expecting to see the person who’d taken Ben, so he’d put on his resting bitch face and glared into the camera to see…

“ _Jay jay!”_ The face of Mick Mercury showed through the camera and Juno immediately dropped the act of confidence. He sighed. “What is it, Mercury? I’m kind of in the middle of something.” he said. Mick sighed. _“Oh. I won’t bother you then Jay, I’ll see mys-”_ He was cut off by Juno. “Wait, Mick- Where are you?” he asked. He knew that place and that was exactly why he’d asked. _“I’m at Ben’s Studio. That’s why I called.”_ Mick started. Juno bit his lip. He knew where this was going and he didn't like it in the slightest. _“Something happened, and I know you think I’m making this up, but I prom-”_

“I believe you, Mercury, just tell me what you see.” Juno said with a sigh. He hoped that wasn’t too much sign of struggle. That meant Ben wasn’t too hurt.

_“There’s a hole in the door, where the paneling for the lock was, and there’s a knife on the floor in the hallway. There’s nothing on it, no blood, but it’s still scary. And there’s a-”_

“Can I see the knife?” Juno asked nervously. The view of the hologram of Mick Mercury shifted and then it came came back with him holding… Ben’s knife. Juno recognized it immediately. He’d given it to his brother when he had told him that he was opening a dance studio. Ben had protested at first and they’d argued for a bit, then Juno had said “ _You can never be too careful.”_ and the conversation had ended.

_“It’s his, isn’t it, Jay?”_ Mick said softly, nervously looking at Juno. Juno looked behind the hologram to Buddy, to see if he should tell Mick what had happened. Buddy still looked hesitant. Juno sighed. “Yeah, it’s his, Mercury.” he said. He looked back up at Mick. He was avoiding Juno's eyes and biting his lip. Juno’s worry grew “Wait- I know that face, what aren’t you telling me?”

_“It’s nothing, Jay, really, it’s all f-”_

“What. Happened. Mercury.”

_“So… There may or not be a bullet in the wall.”_

Juno almost dropped his comms. “What?” he said. “Oh god.” He couldn’t help himself. He started pacing. “Oh god, oh god, Ben..” he stammered. Mick was still looking at Juno. The male took a deep breath. _“Juno, what happened to him?”_ he asked. He was clearly afraid of the answer, but he must’ve picked up on the fact that Juno knew more that he was letting on. Juno figured that was because they’d known each other for years now. They could read each other pretty well. Juno looked back at Buddy, who slowly nodded. 

“He- Someone took him, Mick. I don’t know where, but he’s in trouble and it’s bad.”

Mick seemed taken back by that. His nervousness turned to panic and worry. _“Why would they do that? I can’t imagine him doing anything to get on someone’s bad side.”_ Mick was right. Ben hadn’t done anything bad in his life. Juno’s expression was apparently enough for Mick to see what had happened. He didn’t even have to say it. 

_“Jay- What did you do?”_

* * *

  
Benzaiten was disoriented. He still felt a little dizzy and lightheaded, but fortunately less than before. He opened his eyes with a small sigh. He tried to sit up but felt his hands tied behind his back. He groaned. “Wha...” he muttered. His vision was still a bit blurred. Memories of what had happened flooded his mind. Ballet. Chime. Gun. He felt a shiver go down his spine. Oh help. Oh no. Oh _god_ no. He woke up from his panicked thoughts by a laugh. “Did you sleep well?” it spoke. Ben squinted his eyes at the new person. “Who are you?” he asked. It slurred together as he spoke. Clearly, whatever he’d been injected with had not completely worn off yet. The other laughed at him again. “What was that? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.” they said. Ben sighed. He decided to just stay quiet for now, wait for the big villain monologue. Those always came somewhere around this point in the streams he watched with Rita, so he figured it should show up any second now. 

“No talk, alright then.” They said. They sat down on the chair across from Ben. The dancer tilted his head slightly. “Is this the part where you tell me your big evil plan or do I wait a little.” he said, managing to grin. He could talk a lot better, which he was happy about. Otherwise it would’ve been pretty embarrassing. The other laughed. “So you do take after your sibling. Even if it’s just a little” That caught Ben off guard. “What did you do to Juno?” he asked worriedly. The other chuckled. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that, dear.” they said softly. Ben clenched his fists. He wanted to snap at them and tell them not to call him that, but instead he took a deep breath, considering his options. “So you know who I am.” he said. “Wouldn't it be fair that you told me who you are?” They chuckled. “I guess it would, wouldn't it?” they said. "You can call me Tristan."

Ben scoffed. "Tristan. Cool villain name, although you strike me as someone who would go for a little more dramatic.” he said. He was still grinning, trying to keep up the act of confidence. Tristan rolled their eyes. "Right." They said. "So anyways, I'm gonna ask you nicely to just be nice and stay quiet, because you're not getting out of here." They said, looking directly into Ben's eyes. The dancer couldn't help it, but a shiver went down his spine. He hated that that had happened. "Aw, did I scare you, darling?” they said with a chuckle. They leaned in closer and brushed one of Ben's curls out of his face. Ben flinched away from their hand as if it had burned him. He then raised his tied feet in the air and kicked Tristan in his chest. Agility came with being a dancer and Ben was very glad that it did. “Don’t touch me.” he hissed.

Tristan chuckled. "I guess you do have more fire in you than they said, huh?” they said. "I suggest you keep it inside though, because if you let it out, you get burned.” Ben slightly leaned back in his chair. Tristan grinned. “So we’re in agreement? Good.” they said. “Don’t be stupid and you’ll be fine. If you do get hurt… Well I guess that one's on you then.” 

Ben didn't like this. He didn't like this at all. Tristan moved the chair they'd been sitting on closer to Ben and sat back down on it. “I think it's only fair I give you an example, isn't it?” they said softly. They put their finger underneath the other's chin and lifted it up to face them. He tried to turn away his face from Tristan, but they simply turned it back. A grin formed on their face and it was way wider than Ben liked.

“You did something stupid. Now you get burned.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and please leave me a comment!
> 
> Love you and stay safe :)


	3. Some Calming Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know it's been a bit, but school's been busy, so i give you this extra long one! (and by extra long i mean i finally managed to reach my word goal hhh) I hope you like it :)

Juno had put his comms back into his pocket. He still looked pretty shaken up, but telling Mick what happened had at least helped him organise his thoughts a little. He sighed, looking back up at the rest. “Mistah Steel? Are you- alright?” Rita asked softly from her position against Jet’s chest. He nodded slowly. He definitely wasn’t okay, but they did not need to know that. He felt Nureyev’s hand take his again. He looked up at the other’s gentle smile. No grin this time. Juno took a deep breath. Part of him just wanted to melt against the thief’s chest, but he couldn’t. He needed to stay strong. They didn’t have to see how close to breaking he was right now.

Buddy cleared her throat. “It appears that we have gotten ourselves in a… difficult situation.” Juno scoffed at that. “Doesn’t sound very difficult to me. We give the thing back and we get Ben back.” he said. He would’ve crossed his arms like the snarky lady he was, but he didn’t want to let Nureyev’s hand go just yet. A silence fell, and it felt like it lasted forever. “We are going to give the thing back, right?” Rita then spoke up, quietly. Buddy was looking down at the floor, her head resting his her hands. She took a deep breath.

“Under other circumstances we most certainly would, but we are dealing with someone… dangerous.” she said. Juno couldn’t help but flinch at that. The person who had taken Ben was so bad that even Buddy Aurinko thought they were too dangerous. How reassuring. He felt Nureyev run his thumb over the back of Juno’s hand in an attempt to calm him, even if it was just a little. 

He took another deep breath before looking back at Buddy. “We are getting him back.” he said, although it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than that he was trying to convince the rest of the people in the room.

“Of course, Juno.” Buddy spoke. “What I mean is, if we give him what he wants, I do not think he will return the favour.” Rita tensed against Jet. Buddy clearly noticed and took a deep breath. “Which means we are going to have to break him out.” Juno couldn’t help but scoff a little. “Not stealing something this time, but someone.” he said. Buddy gave him a sympathetic smile. “I suppose so.” she said. She turned her attention back to the group collectively. “It’ll have to be a stealth mission. Get in and out before they notice.”

Juno nodded. He was starting to calm down, even if it was just a little. “Do we have any information on where they could be?” Peter spoke from behind Juno. Buddy sighed. “Yeah, we do. It’s not going to be easy. but with enough planning we have to be able to pull it off. We must.” she said. Juno nodded absentmindedly. “How long?” he asked, looking Buddy right in her eye. “A couple of weeks, two months at most.” she said. Juno definitely did not like that answer. 

“There has to be a faster way.”

“I’m sorry, Juno, but there isn’t.”

“Bullshit, there’s always a faster way.”

“Not in this scenario, Juno, you have to listen to me.”

Juno scoffed. “So I’m just supposed to leave my brother there for two months with  _ them _ ?” he said. The worry was seeping into his voice now, but he didn’t seem to notice and even if he did, he didn’t care. “Great. Isn’t this just fucking wonderful. Have fun with your planning, I’m gonna actually do something.” he snapped before storming off down the hallways of the Carte Blanche.

* * *

Peter took a deep breath. “Juno- Juno dear, slow down.” he said, walking after the lady. Juno just plainly ignored him and walked on. “Juno.” he said, catching up with him. He took the other’s hand and put it to his own chest. “Breathe with me, alright?” he said softly. Juno tried pulling away at first, but Peter didn’t let him. Eventually, he seemed to relax a little. Peter smiled, letting the their hands off his chest and down between them before walking both of them into his room. 

After closing the door, he sat down on the bed and pulled Juno along with him. Juno gave him an annoyed look. “What are you doing, Nureyev?” he asked, crossing his arms. Peter sighed. “Trying to help you relax and calm down a little, dear.” he said. “I understand that you must be terribly stressed right now so I figured I’d try to help you relax a little.” he said gently. Some of Juno’s annoyance seemed to fade, but not all of it. Peter knew better than to expect that. He sighed. “If you need to talk I’m here Juno, but I think the thing you need right now is a distraction.” he said. Juno tilted his head, a questioning look in his eyes. Peter chuckled, which cause Juno to give him a shove. A playful one though. 

Peter chuckled again. “Alright, alright, I’ll get into it.” he said softly. “So we both know that I am not exactly… a star in the kitchen and I figured, maybe you can teach me? I doubt you’d be able to keep your mind elsewhere if we do that.” Juno couldn’t help but snort. “I don’t doubt that, Nureyev.” he said. “But not right now. Later. I’m just… well, you know.” Peter nodded with a sigh. 

Without really thinking, he wrapped his arms around Juno’s waist from the back and pulled the lady against him. “Maybe you should just relax.” he murmured in the other’s ear. Juno didn’t seem to hate that idea. He got close against Peter, leaning his head against the thief’s chest. He put his arms around the lady and they just sat there for a while, Juno cuddled up against him, not that he minded. 

After another while, he heard Juno’s breathing become rhythmical. He smiled down at him and carefully took him in his arms and transferred him to the bed. He pulled the sheets over his chest and smiled at Juno slept. He headed towards the door of the room and put his hand on the door handle. After looking back over his shoulder with a smile one last time, he walked out of the door and let the lady get his rest. He was going to need it.

* * *

To say that he was stressed was an understatement. Considering everything Juno had just laid onto him, Mick was panicking. He needed to talk to someone, anyone about all of this, whatever it was. So he picked up his comms and called the only person he knew he could call. Rita had given him her number a while back, although Mick wasn’t sure that Sasha knew about it. He was gonna find out now. 

_ “Hello? How did you get this line, it is highly confi-” _

“Sasha! It’s Mick. Can we… talk?”

_ “Mick, we are talking right now.” _ _  
_ __  
  


“I meant, like- in person.”

_ “I’m busy, Mick, I don’t have time for whatever trouble you got yourself into this t-” _

“This isn’t about me!” Mick snapped. That caused Sasha to go quiet for a little. “Please, Sash?” he still sounded pretty stressed.  _ “Fine. But I don’t have a lot of time. I’ll be with you in five minutes.”  _ she said. “But Sasha, you don’t even know wh-” He was cut off by Sasha hanging up. Waiting it was. 

After a while, Mick saw someone walking towards him. Short dark hair, formal clothes and two dark sunglasses. He looked at her. “Sash! There you are.” he said, trying to stay cheery. The look in his eyes betrayed his real feeling though and Sasha seemed to have noticed. She sat down next to him on the park bench and took off her shades for a change, resting them on top of her head. It did look pretty good on her.

"Look, Mick, it isn't like you to look his upset, but I don't have long so can just tell me what happened?" Sasha asked. She sounded more gentle than usual and Mick almost found it weird coming from her. “I- Ben's studio got broken into and now he's missing.” Mick threw out. He didn't knew how much he could tell Sasha because of the whole Dark Matters thing, but he figured this was good, right?

Sasha's look of worry increased. "Oh dear- Any sign of him yet?" Mick shook his head. She leaned her head in her hands with a sigh. This was certainly not great.

Sasha could feel her mind spiraling back to the factory and Annie. Her sister had gone missing, died. Now Juno's brother had vanished.  _ Juno _ . Oh god. She looked back at Mick. “Have you talked to Juno yet?” she asked him. He nodded. "Yeah. Can't say he was any less worried than I am.” Mick mumbled

Sasha could read people. It was part of her job and she was pretty good at it. But there was something about Mick Mercury that was just- different. It was like he was easy and hard to read at the same time. Emotions were always clearly expressed on the man's face, but his mind was, Sasha assumed, so chaotic that it was hard to decipher when he was exaggerating and when he was actually upset. He wasn't telling her something, though, Sasha could tell that much.

She woke up from her thoughts by Mick taking her hand. It was shaking slightly. She looked back up at him. “Mick, I know this is very upsetting, but I cannot help you if you don't give me all the facts. What are you not telling me?" She said gently. It sounded all weird and wrong, but she was trying to help Mick the best she could.

Mick sighed. He pulled his hands back from Sasha’s and let his head rest in the palms of his hands. “I- I don’t know how much I can tell you, Sash, Juno said I shouldn’t tell anyone and I just-” His breath hitched. Sasha gently put his arm around him. That was what you were supposed to do in situations like this, right? Apparently that had been the right thing to do, because Mick’s shaking died down a little. He eventually looked up at Sasha. “You know that crime dude? Tristan Topaz? They're the one who took Ben and I’m just so worried.” Mick blurted out. Sasha raised an eyebrow. “How do you know it was them?” she asked. He sighed. “Juno told me, Sash. I don’t know what on earth he did, but Juno did something to piss them off and now I just-” his whole body trembled along with his voice. 

Sasha didn’t quite know how to respond to that. She just held Mick close, trying to comfort her friend. She’d never really been good with emotions and honestly, she still wasn’t. She then heard Mick scoff. “Y’know, it’s our anniversary today? Six months.” he muttered, leaning against Sasha. “After decades of pining we finally get together and then this happens.” He was clearly terrified for Ben and Sasha couldn’t blame him. She’d been worried when Mick said Ben had gone missing but kidnapped by Tristan Topaz out of all people? She felt like she was going to be sick. She mental note to give Juno a call once Mick was feeling better, and that was when her comms started ringing. Funny coincidence, she supposed. She gave Mick an apologetic look and then picked up the comms. “Wire.” she spoke

_ “Where are you? We need you back here.” _

Work stuff. Right. It felt weird to realise that she’d completely forgotten about workstuffs for a while.

“I will be right there.”

She hung up the comms and looked back at Mick. “I’m really sorry Mick, but I have to go.” she said. She really was sorry. “You have my number. Feel free to call. Even I might not able to answer all of the time, I’ll try.” she promised. And she realised that she meant it. She wouldn’t be bothered my Mick calling her because he needed her. She needed to be there for him. That was important. 

She started heading for the door and took one last glance over her shoulder at Mick before walking out the door and heading back to work, hoping everything would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh we got some Mick and Sasha scenes :) I had a bunch of fun writing them honestly. Also please give me ideas for what the crime fam stole from Tristan because I can't keep calling it 'the thing'.


	4. Not Helpless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters keep getting longer and I'm very happy and proud so that's nice. Enjoy!
> 
> tw: mention of guns, implied violence

Ben opened his eyes with a small groan. He furrowed his eyebrows, flinching slightly. He had a few new bruises, but not too many. It hurt, sure, but not too much. He tried not to think about it. He wasn’t really in the mood for reliving those memories and others that he had been reminded of during his most recent experience with the lovely person who had captured him. He sighed. 

It had been days now. Or at least, that was what Ben thought. It was always dark down there, except when someone came in, and then there was simulated light. He didn’t see the sun, so he had no clue how long it had been. It could be days, it could be weeks. He was losing track of time already, which couldn’t be a good sign. He took a deep breath and then let out a small pained hiss. Right. Don’t breathe too deeply. That hurts. 

He carefully sat up. Someone had untied his wrists and ankles a while ago, so at least he could walk around this cold and dark space now. Not that he was able to though. Right now all he wanted was to close his eyes and sleep. Hell, he didn’t even know why he was there. Tristan had hinted that it had something to do with Juno, but Ben had no clue what Juno could’ve done to piss them off. Juno was smart and should know it was stupid to piss someone as powerful as Tristan Topaz off. Didn’t help his current situation though.

A while later, maybe a few days, Ben overheard a conversation outside the door. Two women talking - laughing - about the situation he had found himself in. Ben had gotten used to people mocking and making fun of his current situation, but this time the conversation stood out. Once he’d hear one of them drop the name of his sibling, he’d soon gotten closer to the door so he could hear better. His injuries had healed enough so he could walk, which was nice in his opinion. They’d said along the lines of ‘That Juno lady must be havin a real stressful time’ and although it wasn’t something new, this time it really got to him. He knew what Juno was like. He was probably making some kind of plan to get him out, but Ben wasn’t just some damsel in distress waiting to be saved. Hell no. He was smart, he was agile and he was strong. He could get himself out, and he would. 

So he’d been trying to make a plan for the past hour, or that was how long it felt anyways. He was pacing through the room. Run when Tristan did their daily ‘check up’ with him? No, he’d be caught in seconds. Fake an injury? No, the people guarding his door wouldn’t care. There had to be a way he could get them to open the door. Eventually, he figured something out. He’d just do what he did best. Annoy the shit out of them until they were so frustrated with him that they’d open the door. And so that was exactly what he did.

First, he carefully placed a chair next to the opening of the door. It was the same chair he’d been tied to when he’d first woken up. He intended to hit whoever opened the door with it on the head and at least buy himself some time with that. After he’d made his way out, he’d just run. Try to find a way out, any way. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to find one but that sure as hell wasn’t going to stop him from trying. He took a deep breath. “Let the annoyance begin.” he muttered under his breath before he began loudly complaining. “Can’t believe they didn’t even give me anything to do here. Rude.” he started borderline yelling. 

A few minutes and complaints later, he heard a frustrated groan from the outside. He couldn’t help but grin as he heard one of the security folks yell “ _Shut up, Steel!”_ Good, he was getting somewhere. “Oh how rude! I can’t believe you would say such a thing! Am I not entitled to my opinion?” he whined dramatically. God, he watched way too many streams. He heard one of the women outside let out a soft growl. He flinched, just for a second, before going on. “By all means talk. Unless you can’t of course. Would be pretty sad, but I mean, if you can’t, you can’t right?” he rambled. _“Shut. Up. Steel.”_ He heard. Almost there. “I mean, why though? I got a lot to say and freedom of speech, y’know?” he said. _“Shut up or I’ll make you shut up.”_ Ben had to admit that sent a bit of a shiver down his spine, thought he didn’t let it be heard. “Oooh, is that a threat?” he asked softly. 

Apparently, that did it. He heard some sounds at the door and quickly, yet silently, picked up the chair, raising it above his head. As soon as the door opened, he slammed the chair into the head of the woman who had opened it. It certainly caught her off guard, not that Ben had any time to notice. He started booking it down the hallway. His strength laid in his legs, due to being a dancer, so he could run pretty fast. He didn’t even watch where he was going, just running into different hallways trying to find a way out, or at least some way to help him get further into his escape.

He heard footsteps behind him but he just filtered them away. Find a way first, worry about the rest later. He’d started panting. He knew he could run forever, but he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He made a sharp turn around a corner and hid behind it, holding his breath. He suppressed a sign in relief as the people that had been chasing him ran right past the corner he’d ran into. Thank god.

After a while, he dared to step out from his corner. He realised that the two women were probably not gonna tell anyone that he’d gotten away. Probably wouldn’t be smart if they wanted to keep their job. At least no one but them would be actively looking for him, but he still needed to be careful. He was pretty sure he stood out from all these tough looking buff people. He was graceful and delicate and they, well, were not.

He looked around him. He barely saw anyone but still needed to be quiet. Luckily he was light on his feet and the buff individuals that inhabited these halls were not, so he’d probably hear them coming. He took a few steps and just silently tried to find his way around towards an exit. After awhile of uselessly walking around, he heard footsteps. Someone was coming. Shit.

He swiftly made his way around a corner, but apparently not swift enough, because he heard whoever had followed him pick up the pace. He flinched. Oh god oh god oh god. He glanced back to the direction he heard the footsteps coming from. He’d come so far already, like hell he was gonna give up now. He kept his breathing quiet as he looked around for something, anything he could use. Nothing he could hit someone with but he did spot a comms. He quickly scooped it up and held it in his hand. He wasn’t gonna make any sound if he didn’t have to, but he kept it on him just in case.

He held his breath, waiting for the person who had followed him to walk around the corner and he didn’t have to wait long. He quickly started running again once he noticed the woman he’d heard notice him. He was faster than her, sure, but she was still close behind. He bit his lip as he ran along. He looked back at the comms at his hand. He took a deep breath and started typing in a number, fast. It wasn’t hard to remember, he knew the number by heart. While still running, he hit dial and put the comms to his ear, praying that his sibling would pick up

* * *

Sasha looked at the wall. She sighed as her fingers traced over the bullet hole in it. “Judging by the size of the hole and how far it dented the wall, I’d say it was shot from about-” She walked towards a spot a few feet from the wall “-here” She looked back up at Mick, who looked stressed. The man had taken Sasha up on her offer and so here they were, in Ben's studio. “Topaz’s people are always experts with guns. There is no way they missed that shot by accident, not from this distance.” She assured him. “Probably shot it to startle him. It is highly unlikely that they took another shot at him afterwards.” That seemed like it at least relieved Mick of some of the weight on his shoulders. “He’ll be fine Mick. Trust me.”

Sasha started looking around some more. It wasn’t like the HCPD were going to investigate anyways. She doubted they’d even noticed the break in. She’d instructed Mick not to touch anything. If she was going to help, the place needed to be exactly like their friend’s captor had left it, so she could gather clean evidence. He had actually sticked to the rule, which Sasha definitely appreciated. She’d picked up the knife that had laid in the hallway with gloved hands and slipped it into a plastic bag. She then joined up with Mick again, and put the evidence she’d gather into her bag. 

“I have to get back to work now, Mick, but I’ll call you when-” Sasha stopped when she heard something. Footsteps? She gestured for Mick to be quiet and was very glad when he took the hint. “Stay here.” she whispered to him. She took her gun off her hip and silently made it ready to shoot, although not silent enough because it made a sounds that wasn’t too loud and definitely wasn’t a sound you’d hear not being made by a gun. She cursed under her breath. Stupid.

She took a few silent steps down the hallway, gun still ready. The footsteps she’d heard were going quieter, but she still heard them. She knew they were approaching each other, so she kept her gun ready. When she turned the corner she saw someone and quickly raised her gun. The other raised theirs at her as well and then… Then they both lowered their weapons with a sigh. 

“Sasha?” Juno spoke. He sounded confused as he put his gun away. “What are you doing here?” Sasha sighed. “Nice to see you too, Juno.” she said. She looked behind her again. “Mick! It was just Juno.” she called. When she heard footsteps coming their way, she turned her attention back to Juno, who looked annoyed. “If you must know, I was here because Mick asked me to be.” she explained. Juno scoffed. “Oh so now you care about you friends.” They were interrupted by Mick who showed up from around the corner. “Guys. Don’t fight. Please.” he said. 

Juno sighed. Sasha looked up at both of her friends. They both looked exhausted. Sasha couldn’t blame them, they were all very worried, so was she. It was comforting in a way. Back when they were teenagers all of them would look exhausted. It kind of felt like old times again. 

Juno opened his mouth to answer when his comms started ringing. “Damn it, Rita-” he muttered taking it. He then seemed surprised. Sasha raised an eyebrow. “Who is it?” she asked. "Unknown number.” he replied. Sasha and Juno shared a look. They both had figured this was the person who'd taken Ben. She didn't doubt that Ben knew Juno's number, and they probably wouldn't have a hard time getting it from him. She took a deep breath. "Pick it up then.”

What they heard was certainly not what she was expecting. At first they just heard loud footsteps and panting. "Hello?" Juno asked suspiciously. _“Juno!”_ The other end of the line called. The voice sounded tired and a little pained. All three widened their eyes. “Ben?” Mick spoke up. _"Yeah, hey, hi it's me. Listen, I don't have a lot of time so- Ah shit-”_ The footsteps slowed down. 

“What is it?” Sasha asked softly. _"Dead end-”_ Ben muttered. He went quiet for a while. “Is there a door or anything like that you could leave through?” she asked. _"There is one door but- I have no idea where it leads.”_ She noticed he was bringing his voice down, so she did the same. She took Juno's comms from his hand. The lady looked too caught off guard to react anyways. “Is there any way you could go back?” she asked. _“No, they're catching up already”_ she heard. “Alright. Go through the door.” she instructed. She heard a door handle being pushed down. A muffled voice from the other side. _"I told you not to disturb me!"_ it called. Ben went quiet once more. “ _It's locked_.” he said, his voice quiet. He sounded scared and it wasn't like him. It sent shivers down Sasha's spine. 

Come on, Sasha, think. She took a deep breath. Think of something, anything. She was woken up by the sound of Ben pressing his back up against the door. _"I thought I said quiet!”_ That same muffled voice went. Ben didn't stop though and eventually she heard the opening of door and someone falling to the floor. Then a loud clattering sound. She flinched, assuming the phone had fallen out of Ben's hands. She looked back at Juno and Mick, who were now back to their senses. "Ben?” Mick asked worriedly.

There was a laugh from the other side of the line. The type that gives you chills. _"You just keep surprising me"_ the voice spoke, not muffled and very clear this time. Topaz. They all went silent.

_"Eh- heyy- long time, no see, huh?"_ The anxious voice of Benzaiten Steel spoke. His voice was distant, but there. 

_“I thought I was very clear on the whole 'Be good and you don't get burned' thing.”_

A few rattling sounds. A soft pained hiss _._

_"Ah- Get off me!”_

Another laugh. Sasha bit her lip, trying to stay quiet. Juno gave Mick a look to be quiet. 

_"Oh? What's this?"_ There was a rattling sound and then Topaz's voice became louder. They'd found the phone. _"Who do I have the honour of speaking with?"_

They stayed silent.

_"Don't even want to tell me? Now that's rude."_

They heard a couple of footsteps until Topaz stopped walking. They could hear a sharp breathing now, a pained breathing. Ben's breathing. Then a sound of metal against metal, like something being unsheathed. Before any of them had time to react, their friend let out a pained cry.

_“Wanna tell me now? Or do I need to do that again?”_

“Fine, fine!” Juno said. “Fine, just leave him alone!” Sasha bit her lip. It had been weeks since Ben has disappeared and if that was what had been happening, she deeply hoped that the other was alright.

_“Steel, huh? Suppose I'm not surprised."_ Sasha hadn't heard the knife be sheathed again and that concerned her. Another whimper. She flinched. There was a short sound. _“You know, you're taking a long time. Maybe you just need a little... motivation.”_ Juno widened his eyes. Sasha heard the phone being tossed and then Juno snatched it away from her.

They heard another pained yelp. Juno almost dropped the comms. “Fine, we'll hurry up, just stop it!” he said. The cries were reduced to small whimpers. _“You got a week.”_ The phone was hung up.

Sasha looked at Juno and crossed her arms.

“I think you need to explain something to us, Juno.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell that I miss Mick and Sasha? Also I have a little Ben playlist I listen too while writing, this is the link if you wanna check it out: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ieWQKANSv7C1ucWZIobyF?si=VQgjsWt4RUu5Y8AO8raHIg 
> 
> I'll see you at the next one!


	5. I've Got Some Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy I was really struggling to write this one, but eventually managed to pull it off  
> I hope you enjoy :)
> 
> tw: non-consensual drug use, mention of injury, mention of scars, bandaging, referenced violence  
> tell me if I missed any

Okay. Ben had to admit that maybe that hadn’t been too smart. But he wasn’t just going to sit there and look pretty. No, if he was going to be kept here, he was going to make every minute spent they spent with him annoying and miserable. The problem was that they probably wouldn’t mind to do the same to him. 

So now, he was quietly bandaging his newly acquired injuries with strips of fabric he’d torn off his flannel. It hurt to move too much, but he had to bandage himself up, or his injuries would get worse. So he tore up the soft fabric and carefully wrapped it around his arms and legs and forehead. He sighed in relief once he was done and leaned back against the wall.

A week. That was how much time Tristan had given Juno to do whatever they wanted from him. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Juno didn’t reach that deadline. He didn’t want to, but he found the thoughts slithering into his head anyways. Would Tristan kill him? Just keep him around to gloate, maybe? He had noticed that, whenever they were pissed for some reason, they would take their anger out on him, so perhaps they’d just keep doing that. 

No, no, no, stop, don’t think about that. Just focus on the now. You have to believe Juno will get you out. He will get you out and Mick will be there too and you’re going to be together again after god knows how long. You’re going to be fine.

He sunk his head back in his hands. “Oh, who am I kidding~” he muttered under his breath. Things were bad. Real bad. He still wasn't gonna give up on being a pain to Tristan, but his certainty that he was going to get out kept decreasing with each day.

He heard the door open again. He didn't even look up. At this point he wasn't even scared anymore. He was just so tired. “Good what-ever-the-fuck-time-it-is, Tristan.” he said sarcastically. He heard Topaz laugh. “Hello to you too, Benzaiten.” they said. 

He looked up at them. They were dressed a little fancier than they usually did. “You expecting someone?” he asked, leaning his head back against the wall. “Or did you finally decide to treat me like the very special man I am and dress up?”

They scoffed and sat down next to next to him. He moved away from them a little and they laughed. “Aw, afraid I’ll hurt you?” they said, putting their hand on one of the makeshift bandages on Ben's arm.

Ben pulled away his arm. “Considering our history, you can't exactly blame me, can you?” he said. They let out that same laugh again. They really never stopped laughing or smiling. Must hurt their face muscles. They put their arm back around him and although he tensed, he didn’t pull back. He wasn’t scared of them, but he also wasn’t an idiot.

“I know you want something, Tristan, just get on with it.” Ben said tiredly. He was so done with their games. It had been a month and all they had done was hurt and tease him.

“Alright, alright, fine.” Topaz said, grinning. “Just wanted to see how you were holding up. Maybe talk a little? Discuss some things, some people, y’know? Catch up.”

“Look, Tristan, I already told you I’m not telling you shit, so you can stop playing nice now.” Their grip on his shoulders became stronger and Ben flinched. “Ah- Shit- Don’t that-” he said. 

They grinned. “We wouldn't want you to have put those bandages on for nothing, would we?” Ben tried to pull away from them. “Do you ever stop being an asshole?” He said as he did his best to stand up and walk away. Apparently his best wasn't good enough because he had to hold onto the wall not to fall over. 

They walked over to him. “You do know that you are in no condition to run, right?” they said. They traced their finger over one of his healing injuries.

Ben tried to ignore what they were doing. “You’ve underestimated me before.” he said, crossing his arms. It hurt, but he tried to ignore that as well. They chuckled. “Ah, yes, I suppose I have.”

They then swiftly took his wrist and flipped it around so his calm was facing them. Before Ben had any time to react, they placed a syringe into his wrist and injected him with God knows what. 

Ben quickly pulled his hand back after they let him go, his mind a little fuzzy. “What did you do~” he muttered. “Oh, nothing of your concern. Just a little motivation to help you tell me some stuff”

Ben shook his head a little, trying to call him dizziness. He didn't want to give Tristan the satisfaction of seeing him defeated, even if it was a little, but he had to sit down. So he did. They sat down across from him.

“Alright, so I was wondering, who else were you calling with before? I know it wasn't just you sibling.” Tristan said. Ben crossed his arms. He didn't want to play their stupid games anymore. So he stayed quiet. Or at least he planned to. “Mick Mercury and Sasha Wire.” he said. As soon as he said that he clasped his hands of his mouth. He lowered his hands, looked back at his wrist, then back at Tristan. “Didn't think you'd do that, to be honest, Topaz.” he said.

Topaz seemed to be taking notes, a small chuckle escaping their mouth. “Alright next question, so how do you know these two?” they asked.

Ben covered up his mouth so they couldn't hear his speech. They rolled their eyes. “Oh come on are you really gonna be that childish?” they said. They clicked some buttons on the pad they were taking notes on. The doors opened and two people came through and tied his hands behind his back. “You're childish one now, Tristan.” he said as the two men left again. 

They sighed. “Alright, I'll ask you again. How do you know these people?” they said. “Sasha's my friend, Mick's my boyfriend.” he said. He hated this but there wasn't really a lot he could do about it.

“How sweet of you to tell me. Now, other question. Who is your sibling working with?”

“I don’t know.”

“No idea? I must admit that is disappointing.”

“That’s nice to hear.”

They rolled their eyes. “Alright, next question.”

* * *

“I don’t know, darling, it just feels like there is something we need to do about it.” Buddy said. She was sitting in the room she shared with Vespa and she had been growing increasingly stressed about Juno and how he was feeling. Vespa put her hand on her wife’s. “Bud. He’s going to be fine. He’s got Ransom to comfort him and besides, the best way to help him is to find his brother.”

Buddy wasn’t so sure. They’d been planning and planning, but it was taking them ages. She looked down and Vespa gently cupped her face. “Bud. We’re going to figure this out together, alright?” she promised, looking into the other’s eyes. “As much I hate to admit it, I don’t like seeing Steel like this either. I’m sure we’ll figure out a plan soon. We’ve got a few loose clues and ideas here and there, we just need to combine them.”

Buddy sighed, smiling back at Vespa. “I suppose you’re right, darling, but we need a more concrete plan. This is Tristan Topaz we are talking about. We can’t just rush in there.” she said. “Every plan we’ve come up with so far either has at least one thing which makes it impossible, whether that is the location, our skill set or our numbers in crew.” 

Vespa gently brushed some of Buddy’s hair away from her face. “Well, I believe in you, Bud. I believe in us. I’m sure there’s a way we can combine certain plans. We’ll figure it out.”

Then, they heard a loud noise. They both flinched. It sounded like someone dropped something metal. They both got up and walked towards the source in the kitchen to find Ransom and Rita gathering… something that had fallen onto the floor. Ransom was bright red with embarrassment, which was not something you saw often. 

Vespa held back an amused laugh. “What happened here?” she asked. Rita perked up her head at Vespa. “Eh well you see Mistah Steel has been givin’ Mistah Ransom cookin’ lessons and I suggested that we go suprise ‘im cause he’s so stressed out with thing with Mistah Ben ‘n everythin’ and then we just kinda… dropped the pan.” she said, explaining the situation while waving her hands around. It was almost a miracle that she didn’t hit Ransom in the proces.

Ransom stood up while Rita was still talking. “I suppose we did.” he said with a small laugh. He was wearing one of Juno’s aprons and it had stains all over it. Somehow. Vespa started laughing when she realised he must’ve dropped the pan onto himself. Ransom crossed his arms and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. He then looked down at his arms and realised he’d just put them in front of his chest where all the sauce was. Buddy joined in with her wife’s laughter and soon, they were all laughing, including Ransom.

“Let’s clean this up now, shall we? Before Juno comes back home. That lady does not need more things to deal with.” Buddy said. That, everyone agreed with. Vespa picked up the food they’d spilled, Rita cleaned up the floor so it wouldn’t get all sticky, Ransom cleaned Juno’s apron and Buddy cleaned the pan the food had been in. 

* * *

A while later, they were all sitting next to each other on the couch in the living room. Well, all except for Buddy. She was getting the ship to their meetup place to pick Juno up after he’d went back to his brother’s studio to check for anything that could help them form their plan. Vespa sat on one side of the couch, while Peter sat on the other, Rita in between the two of them. She’d turned on a stream, but both Peter and Vespa could barely follow it, since she kept rambling about it while it was still playing. They both didn’t mind though. 

Peter quietly sipped his tea as Vespa drank her coffee. It wasn’t intense or exciting or anything like that. Just nice and quiet. Of course, that quiet was soon interrupted by Juno who walked aboard the ship. Peter hadn’t even noticed them landing. Weird. 

He sat up after putting his cup of tea down to meet his partner to find Juno arguing with… someone. Peter only recognised their voice for Juno’s call from before. “I’ve already told you before, this is just temporary. Don’t touch anything.” the lady said. Peter walked over to Juno and then gave him a questioning look. “Oh- Right. Ransom, this is my ‘friend’ Mick Mercury, Mick, this is my… my partner, Peter Ransom.” 

Peter gave Mick a small wave. “Nice to meet you, Mick.” he said, before looking back at Juno. “Juno, dear, if you don’t mind me asking, why is he here?” 

“He wouldn’t let me leave him back on Mars after I told him and Sasha about this stuff and so- What?” Juno said, stopping himself once he saw Peter’s face. “Sasha Wire? Your friend who works for Dark Matters? Juno, did it perhaps occur to you that telling a Dark Matters Agent about our current, eh, situation, might be not so clever?” Peter asked. 

  
Right then, Rita hurried into the hallway. “Did ya find anythin’, Mistah St-” she stopped once she was Mick. “Mistah Mercury? What’re you doin’ here?” 

Juno sighed. He looked at Rita, then at Mick and then back at Peter. “Look, I’ll explain everything that happened in a second, just get into the living room and I can tell everyone so I don’t have to repeat myself.” he said. 

“Family meeting, everyone!” The Captain called. Peter hadn’t noticed that she’d walked over, but he was glad that she was there to help gather everyone so Juno could explain whatever this was. 

Vespa waved Captain Aurinko over to the couch and soon they were all sitting around the small living room table. The Captain and Vespa were sitting close to each other on the couch. Jet was sitting on a chair and Rita was laying on that same chair, her back on Jet’s lap and her legs over the armrest. Mick had sat down in a corner somewhere, just quietly waiting on Juno to speak. And finally Juno sat in the center of the couch so everyone could see him and Peter sat next to him to support him. Juno took a deep breath.

“Alright. So. I ran into Sasha and Mick at Ben’s Studio. My comms rang and… and it was him. He’d gotten himself a comms and in the hallways somehow and he called me. I couldn’t speak mostly, I just froze up, but Sasha could so she guided him through it. He got to a dead end and Topaz found him again and-” Peter gently squeezed Juno’s hand. He was there for the lady and he wanted to let him know that.

Juno however, did not seem to want to go on any further. “We’ve got a week.” he said, leaning back against Peter. Peter put his arm around Juno, doing his best to comfort his partner. “I’m sure we can figure out something by then, right Captain?” he asked, looking to Captain Aurinko for help. She looked down until Vespa slightly nudged her. “I normally wouldn’t suggest this. But one of our plans required one extra set of hands, didn’t it, Bud?” The Captain nodded, looking up her wife. “Yes, darling, you’re right.” she said, her eyes lighting up.

Juno realised what was going on. “You aren’t really suggesting-” Peter looked up at Juno. “I’m afraid it’s the only move we have left, dear.” he said. Juno sighed, leaning into Peter closer. Peter kept Juno close as he turned to look at Mick

“Say, Mister Mercury, how would you like to help us steal your friend back?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this fic is kinda angsty but I wanted some thief gang fluff because they deserve a break and you can't stop me. I'm very pumped for next chapter :))))
> 
> As Always, thanks so much for reading and please leave a comment!
> 
> I'll see you at the next one :)


	6. Breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've been waiting a long time to write this chapter, but here it finally is!!

Mick was fidgeting. He was nervous as hell, so worried that he would screw something up. Or rather, that he wouldn’t screw something up. His whole part in the mission was to serve as a distraction and all though he knew he was very good at being goofy and messing things up, he wasn’t as good of a liar as he used to be. But he knew the plan. Create a diversion for the others to sneak in. 

Speaking of the others. Mick still found it hard to believe that he was working with three of the most well known criminals in the galaxy. If he was honest with himself, he’d assumed that Juno had been joking or lying when he said that he was working with big names like Jet Siquliak, Vespa Ilkay and Buddy Aurinko. Apparently he hadn’t. 

He took a deep breath. Now or never, Mercury. He walked over to the highly secure building and just tried to act natural. Sure, that’s how that worked. Soon the two people who were standing in front of the door, a man and a woman, both raised an eyebrow at him. “Can I help you?” the woman asked, crossing her arms. She looked pretty strong, but Mick tried not to pay attention to that. 

“Oh, yeah, you see, I was trying to find the- uh- y’know, the supermarket? Yeah. I guess I must’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere.” Mick said. Wow, he’d gotten really bad at lying. The man sighed. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” he said. Mick bit his lip. “Eh- Yeah, Sure thi-” He stopped when he tripped over his own feet and crashed into both guards, knocking them over. Huh. Apparently his clumsiness could be used for good causes too. Good to know.

He groaned. So did the two people he’d knocked over. “Sir, I’m really going to have to ask you to leave before we make you leave.” Oh no. Here come the threats. Mick sighed. You got this Mercury, have some faith. Mick scrambled to his feet. “Right.” he muttered. He saw a glimpse of some people getting inside. He’d been a long enough distraction, thank god. “I’ll get out of your hair then-” he said. “Good day.” Good day? What does that even mean, Mick?

Luckily, the two guards just seemed happy to be rid of him. They let him walk away with seemingly no idea that a part of the crew had snuck in. He walked for a while until he arrived at the car in which none other than Jet Siquliak was waiting for him. He got in and took a deep breath. “Did it go well?” Jet asked. 

Mick had always imagined him to be more energetic and grinning not so stoic as he was now. He’d seen a lot of streams about The Unnatural Disaster, but this was nothing like what he had expected. 

He nodded. “Yeah, I think I saw them get inside.” he said. Jet gave him the slightest hint of a smile. Good enough for Mick. He looked into the back of the car to Rita, who was typing and talking at a faster speed than he had ever seen her do. Now, okay, Mick hadn’t seen her type and code that many times anyways, but this couldn’t be normal. 

He sighed. He turned away from her again and looked out the window. Better not distract the person with the maps and ways to unlock the door for the four other people inside. Mick leaned his head on his hand as he looked out the window. He wanted to do more than this, to help more, but he knew that the people who were inside there were way more competent than he was. So all he could do now was wait.

* * *

Buddy Aurinko carefully snuck around Tristan Topaz’s facility. With Rita giving her and her wife directions in her ear, finding the way was easier than they’d expected, but it was still tough. Once Rita told them to split up they did. Vespa and Buddy going right and Pete and Juno going left. Buddy and Vespa stayed close together, making sure that they could see all around them together so no one could sneak up on them. 

Rita had told them that there were two places she knew of that Benzaiten could be in. They had no clue who could be in the other cell, but one of the duos would find out soon enough, Buddy supposed. If she was honest with herself, she was hoping that Juno and Pete would find Benzaiten, because he was Juno’s brother after all. She took a deep breath. 

She looked back at Vespa, who was at alert as she was. She made some had gestured, which the other of course understood. They knew each other's body language so well that they could easily communicate without words. 

They stumbled upon some guards in the hallway and the two took them out without making a sound. Until they stumbled upon the room. They exchanged a look before notifying Rita that they were there so the woman at the other end of the line could open the door.

What happened once she did though was certainly… something. Hoo boy, Buddy had not seen it coming. Once they stepped inside, she was knocked to the floor by whoever was in there and they pinned the redhead down. 

Buddy looked up at the person who was holding her down. She was a broad muscular woman with dark skin and black dreadlocks that she had tied up in a ponytail.

Buddy looked at Vespa, then back up at this woman. “Look, darling, we are not here to harm you in any way, so I would appreciate if you would get off my before my wife helps you to it.” she spoke. The woman seemed to be considering her options before finally getting off of the person underneath her.

Buddy stood up and dusted off her flannel, before looking back at Vespa, who seemed more than just a little pissed off. Buddy gave her a comforting look. “I’m fine, darling.” she promised, before looking back at the woman with them, who was understandably confused.

“If you're not here to 'hurt' me, why are you here?” She asked, crossing her arms. Buddy took a better look at her now that she could see all of her. She was wearing a white tank top and a pair of jeans. She looked pretty roughed up, judging my the bruises she carried on her arms.

“We could ask you the same question. We hold the cards here.” Vespa said, crossing her arms as well. The lady across from them took a deep breath.

“I was working a case and then I got swept up in all this mess whatever it is.” She said. Buddy raised an eyebrow. “So you're police then?” she asked.

The woman shook her head. “PI. Apparently I was getting to nosy so I ended up here. On another note, I have been what Buddy Aurinko and Vespa Ilkay are doing here.”

Buddy sighed. “Look, we don't have time to explain, darling, but if you can help you are free to come with us.” she said. Vespa gave her a look, but Buddy chose to ignore it. The woman nodded. 

Vespa looked back at her. “You got a name?” she asked, obviously still pretty salty about when the woman pinned Buddy to the floor.

She sighed. “Strong. Alessandra.”

* * *

Juno brushed off some blood on his clothes. It wasn’t his blood, but that still didn’t make it great to look at. He looked back at his surroundings. “Are we getting any closer yet?” he whispered into his earpiece. “Mistah Steel, if yur close I will tell ya, alright? You can count on Rita, Boss!”

“I’m not your-” Juno sighed, swallowing the rest of his sentence. He looked back at Nureyev and took a deep shaky breath. Nureyev took his hand. 

“Juno. We'll find him. I promise you.” Juno pulled his hand away. “You don't know that.” he said. Nureyev sighed. “Have a little faith, dear.” he said. 

They walked further down the hallway, following Rita's instructions. They went left, right, wherever the hacker said they had to go. 

Juno had assumed that the building would be big but wow he had not expected this. He was pretty sure that they would've gotten lost in this maze of hallways if they didn't have her to guide them. 

He was awoken from his thoughts by a pained hiss. “Juno, it appears have company.” Nureyev said, his hand covering his shoulder. Juno quickly knocked their attacker out. A quick blow to their head with a blaster, wasn't too hard.

He turned around to looked at his partner, to find him leaning against the wall, clenching his shoulder. “Shit- Are you okay?” Juno asked worriedly. He made his way over to Peter and carefully lifted the thief's hand. He fought down the urge to look away from the blood. 

“I’m fine, let's just keep moving.” Nureyev said. Juno sighed. “Nureyev, that wound is deep, you're not fine.” he said. 

“I'll be fine, although I might not be the greatest helping fight. The only way to get me help is to go back to the ship and we are not going back without your brother, Juno.” Nureyev sighed.

Juno took a deep breath. “Alright fine. Just be careful, Nureyev.” he said. He ripped off the sleeve of the thief's shirt and gently wrapped it around his cut. “Alright, let's get moving.” Juno said. 

They continued walking down the hall, Juno making sure that he wasn't going too fast. Then, Juno felt his foot sink slightly on the floor. He let out a startled yelp when an insanely loud siren started going off.

“Maybe you should watch where you put your feet next time, Juno.” Nureyev said over the insanely loud alarms. Juno had stepped on some sort of wire and the alarms had started blaring. The lady cursed under his breath. “I know that.” he said with a sigh. He got up back to back with Nureyev as they started getting surrounded by guards. “Ready?” Juno asked, reaching for his blaster. Nureyev took a deep breath, holding the hilt of his knife in his hand.

“Ready.” 

* * *

Sirens. There were sirens going off and they were way too loud. Something Ben definitely did not appreciate. He got up from his seat. He had to admit he was curious why the sirens were going off. If Topaz didn't like what this was, that meant it was good news, right?

He didn't have too much time to think about it because the doors to the dark room he was in opened. Ben looked at Topaz. He knew that look in their eyes. They were upset, mad and frustrated. They started approaching him. “What the hell are those sirens?” Ben said. 

He didn't get an answer. Instead they grabbed him by shoulder and dragged him outside. Ben flinched. “Ah- shit.” he hissed. He tried to pull away from them, but they wouldn't let him go. “Bitch that hurts, get off me!” he protested. They didn't seem to even pay attention to him. “Shut up.” they said. They spoke quietly, but they still had that angry tone in their voice.

Then it clicked.

“He's here… he's here, isn't he?” Ben asked, his voice quieter now. Topaz's grip tightened. He flinched. “Ah- Shit.” he hissed. They kept walking, dragging him with them. That confirmed his suspicions.

“I told you to get off me!” he said, putting as much volume in his voice as he could. “And I told you to be quiet.” they hissed back at him.

Ben then took a deep breath. Now or never, Benzaiten. He lifted one of his legs and stepped on Topaz's foot as hard as he could. He took advantage of their surprise to pull himself free. He tried to ignore their frustrated screams and started running. 

He ran and ran until he felt himself crash into someone. They both fell to the floor and Ben rolled off of them. He got up to continue running when one of the group around him took his wrist and stopped him. He looked back at the woman, and then at the other two women with her. They weren't wearing the uniforms that Topaz's people always did. He took a deep breath. “Who are you?” he said through pants.

The woman he'd crashed into sighed. She turned to the red haired woman who was holding his wrist. “Buddy, we don't have time for this. Let's just get him out and then we can talk later.” she said. 

The broad woman then spoke up. “We've got a problem-” she said. The green haired woman quickly took out the guards coming at them. Ben flinched. “Remind me not to get on her bad side-” he muttered under his breath. 

Buddy chuckled. “We've got to get moving, darling, can you run?” she asked. 

Ben took a deep breath. “I think so.” he muttered. 

“Alright then, let's move.” 

The four started running down the hallway. After a long time of hurrying and speeding down the halls, they found a safe spot. They panted, Ben and one of the women leaning back against the wall. She seemed to be in just as bad a shape as he was, maybe a bit better.

“So. You wanna tell me who the fuck you you are now?” Ben said, still panting furiously. “And why you're helping me?” 

Buddy looked up at him. “This is Alessandra Strong,” She gestured to the woman panting against the wall next to him. “My wife Vespa Ilkay,” She gestured to the green haired woman. “and I'm Buddy Aurinko. We're with your sibling.” 

Ben took a deep breath. That was a lot to process. Boy, was he curious to find out how Juno ended up working with two of the most well known criminals of the galaxy, but that was a subject for another day. “Is he- is he here?” he asked.

Buddy nodded. “He is somewhere in here.” he said. Ben was slowing stopping his panting. “Topaz- They're out there somewhere, you have to call Juno back here.” he said.

Buddy talked some on her comms and eventually Ben heard footsteps approaching them. “Steel?” Vespa said, still holding her knife. Ben walked over to the corner. He knew he should be more careful, but he really needed to see Juno. 

Unfortunately, the person around the corner was not Juno. The minute Ben turned the corner, he was hit by a small dart in his neck. He heard footsteps of someone running away, but they were slowly fading already. Ben was growing dizzy. Before he knew it, his feet slipped away from under him. He heard vague voices from around him, but they were all blurring out. 

He fell back and was caught just in time by someone who had been running his way over. Ben looked up at him. Dark skin, dark hair and one dark eye. Ben smiled as best as he cpuld. His vision was filling with black spots as he looked up at his sibling. 

Then, his vision went black.


	7. Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know it's been a bit but I just recently got a new phone which meant a working camera which meant I could make cosplay tiktoks again!! (@muffins.corner haha shameless self plug) but anyways do not fret I am not dead yet (haha that rhymes)

Juno was pacing down the floor of his room. “He has to wake up at some point right? I mean, Vespa said he was okay and although she can be annoying at times, she is a good doctor and she knows what she’s doing so why hasn’t he woken up yet because what if-” 

“Juno. Breathe.” 

Nureyev was holding Juno’s hands. “It’s like you said, Vespa said he was going to wake up, we’re just going to have to wait. He’ll be alright. At least he’s safe with us now, right?” he said. 

Vespa had analysed whatever had been the dart that had been shot into his neck, but she hadn’t figured all of it out. Just that it wouldn’t kill him and that he should wake up within a few hours. 

That wasn’t enough for Juno though. The lady was panicking and stressing and he just needed his brother to be awake and safe in his arms. He’d almost lost him all those years ago and all of this was bring back bad memories.

Juno looked up at Nureyev and let himself be pulled down onto the bed as Nureyev sat down on it. Juno let himself lean onto Nureyev’s chest. “I just- Nureyev, I can’t lose him. I almost lost him to her before and I can’t do this again.” he muttered. 

Nureyev put his arms around Juno and held the lady close. “Juno, it’s alright, just breathe with me. He’s going to be okay and he’s going to wake up and you two are going to be fine together, alright? I promise.”

Juno turned around and buried his face into Nureyev’s chest. He let himself completely lean on the other and just melt against the other’s skin. And for the for the first time in a long time,

Juno let himself cry.

They started out as silent tears drenching Nureyev’s shirt, but he slowly started shaking against the thief’s chest and small sobs were escaping his throat. 

Nureyev held him even tighter. “Hey, shhhh, Juno, it’s okay.” he said softly. He felt a shove from Juno that made him fall back on the bed, the lady still against is chest. He didn’t mind. 

“Stop saying that.” Juno said, his voice thick with tears. “Stop saying everything will be okay, because you don’t know that.”

Nureyev reached up his hand and gently cupped Juno’s face. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop saying it then.” he said. “But let me put it like this. All the signs point to him waking up within the coming two hours, dear. That means that he’ll probably be okay.”

Juno’s sobs slowly died down, until he just lied still against Nureyev. Peter chuckled slightly too himself. He gave Juno a soft kiss to his face. “Good night, dear.” he whispered before closing his own eyes. He didn’t even bother to take his glasses off and was passed out almost as soon as he closed his exhausted eyes. 

So there they laid, peaceful and quietly as they slept, just like the other Steel in the room just next to Juno’s.

* * *

Sasha immediately picked up her comms once they rang just once. “Agent W.” she said, attempting to sound as stern as she could.

_ “Sasha! Sasha, it’s Mick. Iwasjusttalkingtothescaryladywiththegreenhairandshesaidthat-” _

Sasha chuckled. “Woah woah woah, Mick, slow down.” she said. She had to admit she was hoping that Mick was going to tell her good news, and then immediately cursed herself for that. No. Stop. Just let him talk and then get excited when he does bring good news. Else you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment.

_ “We got him back, Sash! He’s asleep but he’s here and he’s safe.”  _ Mick rambled. Sasha smiled. “That’s amazing, Mick!” she said. She heard a voice behind her, one of her co-workers calling for her assistance. “I really have to get back to work, but do call me when he wakes up.”

_ “Yeah! Yeah of course, Sash. Promise. Good luck with work.”  _ Mick said.

He hung up his comms and slipped them back into his pocket. He sighed, looking around the infirmary. He hadn’t really left Ben’s side, ever since they’d brought him back.

He then noticed someone stirring on the other end of the room. It was the broad woman who they had freed along with Ben. She was pretty hurt as well and had collapsed almost immediately when they had gotten back to the ship, and Buddy had insisted they take care of her in their infirmary. So here she was

Mick walked over to her. “Are you alright?” he asked carefully. He was caught off guard when she jumped up and pinned him to the wall. “Alright, where am I?” she asked. He laughed nervously. “I forget what the ship is called, but the folks just wanted to help you since you kind of collapsed outside.” he stammered.

She let him go and sat back down on her cot. Mick wearily glanced at her, rubbing his shoulders. “Alessandra, right?” he said, deciding to just lean against the wall. That looked cool, right?

She nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t see you in there. What’s your name?” 

“Mick.” he said simply. He stretched his arms a little more. “Wow, you got a strong grip, lady.”

She laughed. “Yeah, sorry about that. Was a reflex, I guess.” He must’ve looked back at Ben or something, because she said: “Boyfriend?” 

Mick laughed. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” he said softly. He sighed as he looked at the sleeping Ben with a worried look in his eyes. 

“Hey, I’m sure he’ll be alright.” she said, smiling at him. “Just give him a little time to rest.”

Mick glanced back to her. “Yeah- Yeah that’s probably smart.” he said. 

* * *

“I assure you he will probably be fine.” Jet said gently. He and Rita were sitting in Rita's room, on her bed. Her head rested on his shoulder and his arm held her close as they looked at the monitor together. 

She sighed against him. “Was it really that obvious?” she asked. He calmly ran his hand over her arm. 

“I am afraid so.” he said. “But he should be waking up any second now. I know he is your friend so I understand that you are worried for him, however I do not think you need to be. He will be fine.”

Rita nodded slowly, sinking into Jet's arm. “Yeah. I guess so. You are pretty good at comforting people, mistah Jet. Thank you.” she said.

“It is no problem. You are my friend and friends take care of each other.” Jet stated in his matter-of-fact way.

Rita laughed slightly. “I guess it is, Mistah Jet.” she said softly. She sighed to herself. 

* * *

Something was beeping, making loud noises. Ben stirred slightly, vaguely aware of the hand on his cheek. He then shot up in his bed, panting. Yay nightmares. He blinked, still feeling that hand on his cheek. He looked up to see… him. 

He let out an immense sigh of relief and nearly jumped up at Mick, tackling the guy with a hug. “Hey, Mercury.” he said softly. Mick just laughed. “Hey, Ben.” he said, his arms tight around the dancer's waist. 

Ben leaned his forehead against Mick's. “I missed you. So much.” he said softly. 

Mick cupped his face. “I missed you more.” he said with a small laugh. 

Ben scoffed. “Not possible.” he said. He leaned close against Mick's chest. “'M not gonna get off for a long time, babe.” he said.

When Mick laughed again, Ben raised an eyebrow. That voice… That wasn't Mick. Ben pushed himself off the ground and got up, looking at the person on the floor. Topaz…

Ben backed away from them. He looked around for anything to defend himself with. When he did, he realised that he was in that cell. Had he been in there the whole time? How could he not have noticed?

“I don't know what you did to my head, Topaz, but it's not funny.” he said, crossing his arms. He was still stepping further and further backwards until eventually, his back hit the wall. He flinched at the cold stone.

They grinned. “Oh darling, don't be scared. I wouldn't hurt you.” they said, nearing him. “Well, not directly, at least.” he said. The door opened and someone walked inside.

Ben's eyes widened. “Juno! Juno, I- wait. What are you doing here?” 

Topaz chuckled. “Your dear brother here is here to help of course. Tried to rescue you, but we can't have that, now can we?” 

Ben got a better look at his sibling now he was nearring. He looked the same except for his eye. It was expressionless, empty. It sent a shiver down his spine. 

Juno took his blaster out of the holster he had hidden behind his trenchcoat. 

Ben got as close against the wall as he could and raised his hands. “Juno- Juno hold on. Juno, it's me.” he said

And then Juno started glitching. One minute, there was his sibling with a gun aimed at him, next it was his mother, and then it would glitch back into Juno.

“Super Steel, you're scaring me-" Ben said, a clear fear in his eyes. Seeing his mother with a gun again… Come to think of it, she was wearing the exact same as that day.

_ “Your time is up now, little monster.” _

Ben was panting heavily, reaching for his head. “No no no, shut up.”

_ “You shouldn't have taken my meds.” _

“Stop stop stop stop.”

_ “This is all your fault, Benten.” _

Ben looked up at whatever is was that was approaching him. It sounded like Juno and Sarah at the same time and it was terrifying. It was so close now and he was shaking so badly.

_ “You were always a burden.” _

“I said shut up!”

Ben felt himself shoot up in a bed. Second time. He want panting and he felt that his face was wet. He looked around him. It wasn't a room he recognised. It was metal mostly, and it looked like some kind of infirmary. 

He then noticed the people standing around his cot. A broad woman, one Ben didn't recognize and Mick. He bit his lip to make sure he want dreaming and then just melted into Mick's chest, shaking and crying. He was happy that Mick understood he didn't want to talk just yet and relaxed when the other ran his fingers through Ben's curly hair.

Ben heard some background noises after that, but it was mostly blurring together. When he'd cooled down, he noticed that the other woman who had been there was gone. 

“Where are we, Mick?” Ben mumbled. He didn't intend to ever leave the other's side again and Mick didn't seem too keen on that idea either. 

“Ehm… On a spaceship. Safe place.” Mick said while he was absentmindedly drawing circles on Ben's arm. 

“How long was I asleep?” Ben muttered another question. He didn't really have much energy left in him, and he wasn't quite ready to even sit up straight yet.

“A day or so?” Mick said, intertwining his fingers with Ben's. “Never been great with time.” he said. 

Ben laughed a little. “I know that, Mercury.” he said softly.

He gently let go of Mick hand and put his own hand on the guy's face, slowly tilting it down. He then reached up a lite and kissed him for the first time in over a month. 

“Happy anniversary.” Ben said with a laugh as he let himself sink back down against the other. 

Then, Ben heard the door open. He perked open his head to see a man with dark hair and bright red earrings and his sibling. Ben's eyes lit up with relief.

As Juno made his way over to Ben, he made no effort to move from Mick's chest. “Hey, Super Steel. Miss me?” he said in a tired voice.

Juno let out a choked laugh. “Hey, Benten.” he said, grinning with a tearing eye.

Ben leaned forward and leaned close as his sibling wrapped his arms around him. “Took you long enough.” he teased with a laugh. Junos strong grip hurt his bruises a little, but he decided not to mention it.

Eventually, the twins let each other go and Ben sat in-between is sibling and boyfriend. He sighed and yawned. “So is anyone gonna explain this situation to me or nah?” he said softly. 

The door open and in stepped the two women with the colourful hair. “Of course, darling, you must have a lot of questions.” Buddy spoked.

Ben snorted. “That's an understatement.” he muttered. 

“Well… ask away then.” The man with the shiny earrings spoke as he took a seat next to Juno. He placed a hand on Juno's and just looked back at Ben. 

“Okay well first of all, wh-”

He was interrupted by the doors opening once again. Why didn't they just keep them open? In came a broad man, but Ben didn't have much time to look at him, because the person with him tackled Ben with a hug so he fell back on the bed. 

“I’m so glad you're okay.” she whispered softly.

Ben chucked. “I missed you too, Rita.” he said with a chuckle as he slowly sat back up. Rita swiftly let go of his hand before moving back over to the man with the broad shoulders. He looked familiar somehow, but Ben couldn't put his finger on it. He wondered if he was Rita's partner, but that was a question for another day.

Ben's hand soon found Mick's as he leaned back against the himbo. 

“Right, so where was I…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow what's that? A non cliffhanger ending? Gasp


End file.
